At least 10 people were reportedly killed by gunmen suspected to be armed bandits in Wayam, a community in the Sabon-Gari District of Rafi Local Government Area, Niger State.
The incident occurred early Tuesday morning as residents prepared for the day. Homes and goods were also set ablaze during the attack.
Witnesses reported that the attackers, arriving on motorcycles in large numbers and firing sporadically, killed three people initially. Two women who resisted sexual assault were killed, and five others later succumbed to gunshot injuries.
A local source speaking by phone confirmed that the community has been largely deserted since the attack due to the absence of security forces.
The attackers are said to flee to neighboring areas in Kaduna State, specifically the Birnin Gwari region, after each attack, as the communities share a border.
In the past six months, insurgent groups and bandits attacked the Madaka community, a few kilometers away from Wayam, where about sixty people were reported to have been killed in cold blood.
When contacted, the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Wasiu Abiodun, was unreachable at the time of filing the report on Wednesday in Minna, the Niger State capital.
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